IGAD’s Mediation in the Current South Sudan Conflict: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

ABSTRACTSince December 2013, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has been mediating the current South Sudan conflict. The mediation effort is predicated under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter under which regional organizations can undertake activities in the area of conflict mediation and resolution. In January 2014, the mediation process resulted in the signing of two landmark agreements on the cessation of hostilities and the political detainees. The paper argues that the authority’s mediation process is in danger of failing due to a number of reasons, including the authority’s structural problems and lack of leverage to enforce its will on the parties to the conflict. In the end, the mediation may have a chance of success if the organization can tap into its mediation experience gained during the Sudan and Somalia peace processes. Moreover, the authority’s mediation of the South Sudan conflict has a chance of succeeding because it has been recognized by the African Union and the United Nations among others as the only process to resolve the problem.